Appeal No. 97-1080
Application 08/201,733
appealed subject matter and copies thereof may be found in
the appendix to the appellant’s brief.
The references relied on by the examiner are:
Szwargulski 3,520,330 July 14, 1970
Mandroian 3,898,017 Aug. 5, 1975
Dowdy et al. (Dowdy) 4,957,157 Sep. 18, 1990
Claims 1, 2, 6, 8-10 and 16 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C.
§ 103 as being unpatentable over Dowdy in view of Mandroian.
Claim 11 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being
unpatentable over Dowdy in view of Mandroian and Szwargulski.
Both of the above-noted rejections are bottomed on the
examiner’s position that:
The patent Dowdy et al., Figures 1b, 3a and
3b and in column 3, line 26 through column 4,
line 12, discloses [a] two phase closed-
looped thermal control system consisting of a
heat source (16), a capillary evaporator
(26), radiator/heat exchanger (20), a coolant
reservoir (50) and a power controlled
electrical heater (54). The patent of Dowdy
et al. fails to disclose a first and second
check valves located at second and third
locations. The features called for by the
claim are directed to inlet/outlet type check
valves for a pump connected to a fluid
circuit. Such details are not limited to
spacecraft but can be found in any system
requiring a pump connected to a fluid
circuit. The patent of Mandroian, in Figures
1 and 10 and in column 1, lines 45-59, in
column 2, lines 46-54 and in column 4, lines
25-30, discloses first (40) and second (45)
ball check valves located at second and third
locations which are just before and just
2
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